Lielahti, Tampere (NC)
|+'Lielahden kauppala' |- | Founded || 1909 AD |- | Termination || January 1, 1953 annexation to Tampere |- | Area || 5.58 km² |- | Population 1952 AD || var. 25,491 |- | Population density 1952 AD || var. 4,568.3/km² |} |+'Lielahden kaupunginosa' |- | District number || 021 |- | Superdistrict || Lielahti 02 |- | Subdistricts || Lielahti as. 02101 Lielahti kesk. 02102 Lielahdenranta 02103 Harjuntausta 02104 Lintulampi 02105 |- | Postal code(s) || 30200, 30240, 30245, 30260, 30265 |- | Area || 3.09 km² |- | Population as of Density || 22,398 2005 7,248.5/km² |} Lielahti is a district of Tampere and a former municipality (market town) of Finland in modern-day Ugrian Union. History The area of the district has been formerly part of Ylöjärvi parish until year 1820, then part of Nokia Rural Municipality until 1909. In the late 19th century, local landowners started to lobby for the creation of a separate market town from those parts of Nokia R.M. that were in high need for residential development due to nearby growing town of Tampere. This was achieved in 1909; by then, Lielahti had lots of industrial activity, but residences were built without coordination. It was decided to build the downtown to the end of industrial area and its railway branch. Partly the municipal authority bought lands from industrial corporations and Nottbeck family. Partly the industrial corporations financed and built blocks of flats by theirselves, to meet the need of apartments by their workers. Lielahti got further boost to its development in 1912 due to the completion of Lielahti-Ikaalinen railway. In anticipation of this, and the Epilänharju railway station (closer to new Lielahti downtown than Lielahti station), the local traffic was developed to rely on a main street (nowadays Lielahdenkatu) all the way from the new station to the eastern end of the market town at Lentävänniemi. This infrastructure would eventually fail to meet the effects of inward population pressure. Due to Ylöjärvi-Seinäjoki railway and the increase in population around Ylöjärvi, extra tracks were built between Lielahti station and Ylöjärvi, and a new highway was planned from Tampere to Vaasa parallel to the railway, so there was no room for continued existence of Epilänharju station. During the mid- 20th century, there was ever-increasing importance of Lielahti station area near the municipal border with Tampere, and congestion in the Lielahti town area, especially near the old Tampere-Vaasa highway going through the market town. To achieve an effective consensus in the building of the new Vaasa highway, as well as in linking the Lielahti downtown to the tram network of Tampere, residents of Lielahti chose to merge with Tampere in a referendum held in 1951. After the merger in 1953, new developments were swift. Tampere tram network was extended to Lielahti Church in 1955, and from the church to the old Epilänharju station in 1957. The new Vaasa highway (Main Road 3) was completed in 1964, and it also included tram service between Lielahdenkatu and Amuri in Tampere downtown. In 1966, non-electric railway service at Tampere railway station was prohibited due to pollution concerns, which meant the end of commuter traffic through Lielahti industrial area. Since 1966, the old Lielahti downtown has seen a little change in outline. Inside the district, main changes have been between the station and Church at Harjuntausta, which has been gradually converted from an area of detached house to efficiently built commercial area. Also, recently industrial areas at the Lielahti beachfront have been remade residential. Below: Former market town of Lielahti, railways during its existence, neighboring municipalities, modern districts. Transport Tram lines 1,2,3,5,6,7,8 & 9 go near Lielahti railway station. Of these, 1,3,8 & 9 serve Lielahti Center, while Line 2 serves Lielahti Beach. Lielahti railway station is served by all eight commuter train lines with up to 28 departures per hour to the downtown. Also, a few VR local trains of the line Rauma-Tampere-Haapamäki-Seinäjoki serve the station daily. Internal daytime bus lines 71, 72, 73 and 74 connect Lielahti to both downtown, as well as to the district of Ryydynpohja. Lines 90 & 91 offer non-radial service to eg. Kalkku. Regional daytime bus lines 715 and 716 connect Lielahti to districts of Ylöjärvi lying north of Lielahti, while lines 722-739 connect Lielahti to Siivikkalankylä within Ylöjärvi, east of Lielahti. Line 940 offers non-radial service to Pitkäniemi at Nokia, as well as the city of Pirkkala. Line 180 offers similar service, but to Tampere-Pirkkala Intl. Airport. Services Lielahti has both lower and upper elementary school located at the Center. Another lower elementary school is situated at Lielahti Beach. There is an upper secondary school near Lielahti railway station, and a vocational school at Lielahti Industrial. Harjuntausta subdistrict has hypermarkets and specialized stores. Category:New Coordinates